Sometimes I wonder if it’s a good thing if you are labeled a nice person. I know that I do try to be kind to the universe each day. I am not a people pleaser, but just someone who really cares and is passionate about things. According to some, being a good person will never make you a financial success in life. That’s okay, I’d rather be able to look myself in the mirror each morning.

I’m not “Mother Superior” as one of my American internet friends calls me, nor even The Mother Theresa of Punk Rock. I have been far from perfect and have done some things I am not proud of — but I have always believed in keeping promises and paying it forward. Good things can often come because of our generosity with our time and knowledge. Gratitude may serve as an effective motivation leading to others paying it forward.

For 51 years the Dunlop family has patiently waited for the town of Carleton Place to pay it forward with a verbal promise once told to them years ago. There would have been no Industrial Park without their quick co-operation. It would be fair to conclude that good things will happen to the receiver and giver of generosity and kindness, and that the effect might become contagious. Our town could use some goodwill these days and maybe this gesture could be a beginning of something for our town. Maybe I’m wrong–but we take so many things in life for granted and don’t realize what life would be like without them. Has being altruistic become a lost art?

Being nice is not a bad thing, but there are always some people that are wary, and why do they insist that you are trying to hide something? Frankly, it might be a better world if people were not so suspicious of those with a smile and a good word and deed, as we are truly trying to be earnest. Let’s think about doing the right thing for a family that supported the town of Carleton Place since 1828.

Please share this and always try to ”pay it forward”. Thank you to all involved in helping the Dunlop/Kenny family maybe finally get some closure at Tuesday’s October 13th council meeting.

The Ottawa Journal, 16 Dec 1953, Wed, Page 36